On Media

NY-19: Eldridge taps personal wealth, tech

By DYLAN BYERS

07/16/2013 04:24 PM EDT

Sean Eldrige, the husband of Facebook co-founder and New Republic owner Chris Hughes, has suffered for his wealth in recent days. First, The New York Times wrote a front-page story portraying him as a jet-setting transplant unfamiliar with the common-man concerns of New York's 19th, where he may stage a congressional bid, then the National Republican Congressional Committee used that article to accuse him of being "rich and out of touch."

But money is Eldridge's double-edged sword. Even as Republicans use his wealth against him, they concede in private that it enables him to wage an aggressive campaign and create real headaches for the Republican incumbent, Chris Gibson. To date, Eldridge has raised $747,943, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed on Monday. Gibson has raised just $498,337.

So who's giving to Eldridge? More than a quarter of his resources, or $215,000, have come out of his own pocket. The campaign attributes this personal donation to Eldridge's reluctance to accept funding from corporate political action committees. Gibson, who has not given any of his own money to his campaign, has raised $337,075 from PACs -- more than two-thirds of his total contributions. Eldridge has also received $140,828 in individual contirbutions through ActBlue, its online fundraising service.

Much of the rest of Eldridge's contributions have come from wealthy tech players, many of them based either in Silicon Valley (where Facebook is based) or New York City (where Eldridge and Hughes have a home). Samuel Lessin, Facebook's director of product, has donated $5,200 to Eldridge, as have LinkedIn chairman Reid Hoffman and IAC/InterActivCorp chief Barry Diller. Elsewhere, Seattle-based venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, D.C.-based CityBridgeFoundation president Katherine Bradley, and Laguna Beach-based Obama bundler Janet Keller have all contributed $5,200, respectively.

Morgan Hook, an Albany-based Senior Vice President at the media consulting firm SKDKnickerbocker, which is handling communications for the campaign, said Eldridge was "grateful for the significant support he's receiving from throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond."

"These individuals clearly believe that he would be an effective advocate for the people of the Hudson Valley," Hook told POLITICO. "Should he decide to run, Sean is determined to be an independent voice for New Yorkers and not beholden to the countless corporate interests that flood other campaigns. For this reason, he will not accept contributions from corporate PACs, and he is proud that his support has come from actual people."